Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
O'er the ramparts we watch, 1944 US poster: Painted poster of a young airman in a leather jacket, looking upward from among

O'er the ramparts we watch

Painted poster of a young airman in a leather jacket, looking upward from among clouds and holding a large bomb, with a formation of heavy bombers below and the line 'O'er the ramparts we watch' above. The tells are the national-anthem phrase and the heroic upward gaze (glittering-generalities) and the borrowing of the anthem's authority for air service (transfer).

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Glittering generalitiesTransfer
Date
1944
Period
Second World War
Made by
U.S. Army Air Forces, War Department (artist Schlaikjer)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Military
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Recruit
Theme
War and the military
Event
World War II
Regime
Roosevelt administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Army Air Forces, War Department. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1434 (NAID 515097).

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

O'ER THE RAMPARTS WE WATCH
UNITED STATES
ARMY AIR FORCES
[signature:] SCHLAIKJER 1944
© WAR DEPARTMENT, U. S. A.
[imprint:] BROWN & BIGELOW, ST. PAUL, MINN., U.S.A.

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